The General Amherst Bulldogs boys soccer team have been eliminated from the WECSSAA “AA” soccer playoffs by the Kennedy Clippers in a game that left a bad taste in the Bulldogs’ mouths.

By the time last Thursday afternoon’s game at the Libro Centre ended, both goalies had been ejected, parents had come onto the field and others ejected, and a dispute over how much time was thought to be left on the clock when the referee blew the final whistle.

General Amherst’s Aaron Brush kicks the ball up the field during last Thursday against Kennedy. Amherst lost 2-1 in the WECSSAA “AA” playoff game.

General Amherst coach Gavin Blunt said he didn’t want blame the officiating for the loss but wanted to focus on his own team’s effort.

“I thought we played a hard fought game and we ended up with some tough calls against us,” said Blunt, after the 2-1 loss.

Blunt said there were points where he felt the Bulldogs outplayed Kennedy but couldn’t convert their chances.

“It was a very tough game to coach. It was a tough battle,” said Blunt. “The boys played well.”

Kieron Sweet scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs.

Assistant coach Spencer Petrozzi also said he didn’t want to concentrate on the officiating, and agreed that the Bulldogs played well despite the final score.

“The boys played hard. They battled right to the end,” said Petrozzi. “We’re very proud of the boys. They battled.”

General Amherst’s Brock Beaudoin (left) wins a race to the ball but the Bulldogs lost the game 2-1 to Kennedy.

All of the players are eligible to return next season and they hope the 2018 season will be better. Blunt said the 2017 season was still a good one.

“It was a great season,” he added. “It was an unfortunate way to end an undefeated season in a game like this. It was chaotic and unorganized. There were scrums at times.”

Blunt noted “we played a really good team” and Petrozzi also noted the Bulldogs had their chances.

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It has been a positive start for the General Amherst Bulldogs senior boys soccer team.

The Bulldogs opened the season last Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over the Leamington Lions. General Amherst got goals from Kieron Sweet and Connor Pike in that win. Two days later, the Sandwich Sabres came to the Libro Centre with the Bulldogs winning 2-0.

General Amherst’s Michael Nasello (left) battles for a ball with a Sandwich player during Thursday afternoon’s WECSSAA Tier 2 boys soccer game at the Libro Centre. The Bulldogs won 2-0.

The latter game saw Cole Zelle and Michael Nasello score for the Bulldogs with Griffin Muzzin picking up the shutout in goal. Thursday’s game was played in difficult weather conditions with cold winds, rain and sleet having to be endured by players, coaches, referees and fans alike.

“We started off the way we wanted to start off,” said coach Gavin Blunt, after Thursday’s game.

The team is young this season, with a number of Grade 12 players last year graduating. The players are all Grade 11 and younger this year, he said.

“We don’t have one Grade 12 player,” said Blunt.

Despite that, they have a number of returning players from last year.

“They are young but they are experienced,” he said.

The team has been capitalizing on its chances so far this season and playing solid defensively. They are showing good internal leadership, said Blunt, and thus far the results have been good.

“We have a good core group of kids from last year,” he said.

General Amherst’s Brock Beaudoin goes up to head a ball against Sandwich last Thursday afternoon. At right is Amherst’s Aaron Brush (6). General Amherst won 2-0 on a cold, wet day at the Libro Centre.

The coaches didn’t expect to have as strong of a team as they appear to have but some of the players’ talents have been coming out since the first practice. He said expectations weren’t as high when practice began but players have been showing “hidden potential” as the season moves along.

“We’re still going to try and go as far as we can and make a deep run in the playoffs,” said Blunt.

General Amherst improved to 3-0 on the 2017 season with a 4-0 win over Lajeunesse Monday afternoon at home. Michael Nasello scored three times and Kieron Sweet scored the other.

The Bulldogs’ next game is Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Libro Centre against the Herman Green Griffins.